Part C- Written Summary
Humanity's infatuation with space is one which extends to the beginnings of time. It is a tangible desire of human beings to discover the unknown and to address the questions about our universe. Society is amidst the era of space exploration as humanity challenges itself to move further into our solar system (NASA, 2013). Increased space voyages require increased launching procedures, a fuel-consuming process which is considerably uneconomical and impractical. Can electricity and the magnetism which results from this current be considered a greater energy source than more conventional fuel sources? Since Ampere's discovery of the phenomenon of magnetic forces, they have been used to construct levitating trains and for …show more content…
In this, the rocket acts as a projectile being launched from the track by the produced magnetic force. Compared to standard methods, this alternative is beneficial as it is generally launched from higher altitudes (Figure 3). From Italian scientist, Galileo's study of projectile motion, it is known that increasing the launch height will reduce the required launch velocity (The Open University, 1995). Kinetic energy is directly proportional to velocity. As a result, less kinetic energy (K_E), or energy of motion, is required by the rocket to overcome the force of gravity acting on the object's mass (m) (K_E=1/2 mv^2). Therefore, if the velocity reduces, so does the kinetic energy of the rocket and thus less electrical energy is needed to achieve the required velocity (v) of the rocket for launch (Bolonkin, 2009). This occurs because electrical energy is transformed into kinetic energy. Therefore, if less kinetic energy is required, a smaller amount of electrical energy can be supplied to reach the kinetic energy required by the …show more content…
This is done as the expression F=I∆lB sinθ shows that the magnetic force (F) is directly proportional to the current (I), length (∆l) and orientation (sinθ) of wire and the magnetic field strength (B) (University of Colorado, 2009). However, there can be damaging effects with using a circuit with such a high electrical current (Harmon, 2011). Thus to prevent the current from reaching damaging levels, a resistor is implanted within the launching systems circuit. Ohm's Law states that the current (I) is directly proportional to the electric potential difference between two points (∆V) in a circuit and inversely proportional to the total resistance (R) in the circuit (I=∆V/R) (The Physics Classroom, 2016). Thus, the addition of the resistor will reduce the current in accordance with the inversely proportional relationship between the variables. Furthermore, as stated previously, the magnetic force is dependent on the current. Thus, the magnetic force will in turn decrease. As a result, a reduced acceleration is obtained (F ⃗=ma ⃗) and a decreased magnitude of the velocity, as a ⃗=(∆v ⃗)/∆t (where ∆v ⃗ is change in velocity and ∆t is the change in time) (Harmon, 2011). Therefore, in comparison, the current launching system is more beneficial in achieving the required launch velocity of a
Humanity's infatuation with space is one which extends to the beginnings of time. It is a tangible desire of human beings to discover the unknown and to address the questions about our universe. Society is amidst the era of space exploration as humanity challenges itself to move further into our solar system (NASA, 2013). Increased space voyages require increased launching procedures, a fuel-consuming process which is considerably uneconomical and impractical. Can electricity and the magnetism which results from this current be considered a greater energy source than more conventional fuel sources? Since Ampere's discovery of the phenomenon of magnetic forces, they have been used to construct levitating trains and for …show more content…
In this, the rocket acts as a projectile being launched from the track by the produced magnetic force. Compared to standard methods, this alternative is beneficial as it is generally launched from higher altitudes (Figure 3). From Italian scientist, Galileo's study of projectile motion, it is known that increasing the launch height will reduce the required launch velocity (The Open University, 1995). Kinetic energy is directly proportional to velocity. As a result, less kinetic energy (K_E), or energy of motion, is required by the rocket to overcome the force of gravity acting on the object's mass (m) (K_E=1/2 mv^2). Therefore, if the velocity reduces, so does the kinetic energy of the rocket and thus less electrical energy is needed to achieve the required velocity (v) of the rocket for launch (Bolonkin, 2009). This occurs because electrical energy is transformed into kinetic energy. Therefore, if less kinetic energy is required, a smaller amount of electrical energy can be supplied to reach the kinetic energy required by the …show more content…
This is done as the expression F=I∆lB sinθ shows that the magnetic force (F) is directly proportional to the current (I), length (∆l) and orientation (sinθ) of wire and the magnetic field strength (B) (University of Colorado, 2009). However, there can be damaging effects with using a circuit with such a high electrical current (Harmon, 2011). Thus to prevent the current from reaching damaging levels, a resistor is implanted within the launching systems circuit. Ohm's Law states that the current (I) is directly proportional to the electric potential difference between two points (∆V) in a circuit and inversely proportional to the total resistance (R) in the circuit (I=∆V/R) (The Physics Classroom, 2016). Thus, the addition of the resistor will reduce the current in accordance with the inversely proportional relationship between the variables. Furthermore, as stated previously, the magnetic force is dependent on the current. Thus, the magnetic force will in turn decrease. As a result, a reduced acceleration is obtained (F ⃗=ma ⃗) and a decreased magnitude of the velocity, as a ⃗=(∆v ⃗)/∆t (where ∆v ⃗ is change in velocity and ∆t is the change in time) (Harmon, 2011). Therefore, in comparison, the current launching system is more beneficial in achieving the required launch velocity of a